Nicholas Lelieur v. State of Arkansas

2023 Ark. App. 240

• Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas
• Decided: April 26, 2023
• Status: Published

Opinion

Cite as 2023 Ark. App. 240 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CV-22-293

NICHOLAS LELIEUR Opinion Delivered April 26, 2023 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE CONWAY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 15PR-22-15]

STATE OF ARKANSAS HONORABLE JERRY RAMEY, JUDGE APPELLEE REMANDED TO SETTLE AND SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD

STEPHANIE POTTER BARRETT, Judge

This case is an appeal from the Circuit Court of Conway County ordering the

involuntarily admission of the appellant, Nicholas Lelieur, to a receiving facility or program

for alcohol- or drug-addiction treatment pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 20-64-821(d) (Repl.

2018). On February 10, 2022, Nicholas Lelieur’s mother, Angel Cloud, filed in the probate

division of the Conway County Circuit Court a petition to involuntarily admit her son to

an appropriate facility or program for drug-addiction treatment based on her belief that he

was “homicidal, suicidal, or gravely disabled” due to a severe addiction to fentanyl. A hearing

was held, and the order of involuntary admission was signed by the court on February 11,

2022, but not filed until February 18, 2022, with the Conway County clerk.

Arkansas Code Annotated section 20-64-802 (Repl. 2018) provides that circuit courts

have exclusive jurisdiction for procedures for involuntary commitments for alcohol- or drug- addiction treatment and may conduct involuntary-commitment hearings within any county

of the circuit judge’s judicial district. On February 11, 2022, Lelieur appeared for the hearing

and was appointed counsel to represent him pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 20-64-820(a)

(Repl. 2018).

The issue on appeal is whether there is clear and convincing evidence to support

Lelieur’s involuntary admission to twenty-one days in Harbor House or another suitable

facility. The order of involuntary admission is not a part of the record before this court. To

be clear, the record before this court contains a notice of appeal that designates an order of

February 11, 2022, as the order from which he takes his appeal. However, for whatever

reason, the order signed on February 11, 2022, committing Lelieur to Harbor House in Hot

Springs was not filed until February 18, 2022. Lelieur’s notice of appeal states, “[N]otice

hereby is given that Respondent appeals to the Arkansas Court of Appeals from the order

filed against Respondent by the state on February 11, 2022. . . . The Respondent hereby

designates the entire record and all proceedings, motions, exhibits, documents, testimony

entered into evidence, and all documents entered under file mark contained in the court

record.” The February 11 order was not made a part of the trial record even though the

notice of appeal recited the record was to include “all file marked documents.”

A record on appeal shall be compiled in accordance with the rules of the Arkansas

Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Ark. R. App. P.–Civ. 6(a). The record in civil cases

consists of the pleadings, judgment, decree, order appealed, transcript, exhibits, and

certificates. Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 3-1(n). If an appellant is going to argue on appeal that the

2 evidence does not support, or is contrary to, a finding or conclusion, the party “shall include

in the record a transcript of all evidence relevant to such finding or conclusion.” Ark. R.

App. P.–Civ. 6(b). If anything material to either party is omitted from the record, either by

error or by accident, we may direct that the omission or misstatement be corrected and, if

necessary, that a supplemental record be certified and transmitted. Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 3.3; Ark.

R. App. P.–Civ. 6(e); Perez v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 561; Lacy v. State, 2017 Ark. App. 509;

Jenkins v. APS Ins., LLC, 2012 Ark. App. 368, at 5–6. We remand this case to settle and

supplement the record because we are unable to determine whether we have subject-matter

jurisdiction over the appeal. Air Masters Mech., Inc. v. Goodman Distrib., Inc., 2015 Ark. App.

315. Here, it appears that the final order was omitted from the record by either error or

accident.

Accordingly, we hereby remand to the circuit court to settle and supplement the

record with the final order of involuntary admission within thirty days from the date of this

opinion.

Remanded to settle and supplement the record.

KLAPPENBACH and BROWN, JJ., agree.

Beth Wright, Public Defender, for appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att’y Gen., by: Rachel Kemp, Sr. Ass’t Att’y Gen., for appellee.